Fire Zoned
by Aerle
Summary: When Ace stands heartbroken on Marco's doorstep, Marco knows the best remedy right away. Ace, however, has other plans. Written for the MarcoAce week 2015 day 1 with the theme "fire".


Written for the MarcoAce week 2015 day 1 with the theme "Fire".

Prompt used: "things you said when you were drunk", requested by an anon.

* * *

Marco was standing outside, watching the firefighters evacuate the last people from the building. To be honest, it seemed a bit redundant to Marco, as they already had the fire under control in the apartment on the second floor.

It was a little worrying that he still hadn't seen Ace, as it was his apartment that was on fire. But, he reassured himself, if Ace was still in there when it happened, the firefighters would have gotten him out by now. It wasn't a big fire, after all, but it was protocol that the whole building had to be evacuated, and that was why Marco was standing outside without even as much as a coat on.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice asked behind him.

Marco turned around. Ace was standing there, wearing nothing more than shorts and running shoes, his torso covered in sweat as he took out one of his earphones.

"Ace, thank God, there you are! You know how often I've tried to call you?" Marco asked, reprimanding.

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't hear it. But what's going on?"

Marco sighed. "Did you leave the stove on?"

"What? No. Why?"

"'Cause your apartment is on fire." Marco put his hands in his pockets and looked at the building, from which a few firefighters emerged.

"What?!" Ace ran towards one of the firefighters and frantically started a conversation. The fireman said something back, which seemed to upset Ace. Marco watched intrigued as Ace's shoulders slumped and he dragged his feet back to Marco.

"So, apparently, the fire _did_ start in my apartment. They're still looking what caused it. It may be faulty wiring, but still. I can't go in there until they've renovated it." Sighing deeply, he sat down on a low wall and rubbed his temples.

Marco sat down next to him. "If it's not your fault, I'm sure your insurance will cover all costs."

"I know, but… It's all my stuff. I mean, I have my phone, but my laptop and everything…" Ace trailed off.

Marco wrapped his arm around him. "Maybe they saved it. They were quite quick to put the fire out." He looked at the retreating firefighters. "Until your apartment is done, you can stay with me."

"Thanks, Marco. I really appreciate that." Ace beamed him, causing Marco's heart to flutter.

He smiled back. "Sure. What are friends for?"

Ace gave him another smile, when he suddenly reached into his pocket and took out his phone which was playing a melody. "It's Smokey. I'm gonna take this, okay?"

Marco forced another smile on his face as Ace picked up and started talking to his boyfriend. Marco sighed. It was pathetic how he pined over a guy that was just his friend. His best friend.

They didn't start out that way, though.

Marco had met Ace through Haruta, Marco's brother. He didn't dislike Ace, but didn't think they had much in common. He saw Ace several times at the birthdays of his brothers, but they never talked. That was, until Marco heard Ace make a reference to a book Marco loved while talking to Rakuyo. Rakuyo hadn't gotten it, but Marco hadn't been able to resist and started a conversation with Ace about that book.

They continued talking until morning, when everyone else had already left, and the sun already started to rise. Only then Marco had asked, "It was Ace, wasn't it?"

They had been friends since then, good friends perhaps even, but they only became best friends when Ace was looking for an apartment and Marco happened to know one in the same building as he lived in. Ace had gotten the place, and since then, he was constantly coming over to Marco's place. There, they hung out, watched movies, talked to deep into the night.

It was already too late when Marco realised he was in love with Ace.

The fact that Ace was bi didn't help him, though. They were friends, best friends. Ace didn't feel like that for him. A guy named Smoker was his current boyfriend, and it seemed things had gotten pretty serious.

Marco was happy for Ace, he really was. But that didn't mean he wasn't jealous of this Smoker either.

"Okay, bye." Ace hang up the phone and walked back to where Marco was sitting. He had the tendency to walk around when he was talking on the phone. "Good news," he said as he sat down next to Marco again, "I can stay at Smokey's, so I won't be intruding on you."

Marco repressed a sting of jealousy. "You wouldn't be intruding." He tried not to sound bitterly. "But I didn't know you guys were so serious that you could practically move in. You don't know how long the renovation is going to take, after all."

Okay, maybe he said that a bit to scare Ace off.

"Don't worry, Smokey and I are fine. Besides, it was his idea." Ace smiled at Marco reassuringly, and Marco could feel his stomach curl.

He loathed himself.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Marco heard a hesitant knock on his door. He placed his book on the armrest of the couch, already having a feeling who it could be.

His suspicions were confirmed when he opened the door and saw Ace standing, his eyes red and puffy. Marco knew right away how things stood, and he stepped aside to let Ace pass him.

Marco walked over to the sofabed, pulling it out, and as Ace sat down, he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the ice cream and the rum, the solution for a heartbroken Ace.

It wasn't the first time Ace came over after a fight with his current significant other, and Marco had learned that ice cream and rum worked best.

Well, for Ace, at least.

He handed Ace the ice cream and a spoon, and placed the bottle of rum in between them as he made himself comfortable on the sofabed. "Tell me what happened."

"We had a fight." Ace ripped the lid off the ice cream box as if it had personally offended him and dug his spoon into the revealed mass.

"How bad?"

Ace looked at him. "Bad. It's over."

"I'm sorry."

Ace shoved a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and sniffled. Marco got up once again and got a box of tissues he had somehow forgotten.

It took a few more bites of ice cream and several sips from the rum bottle before Ace felt ready to talk again.

"I thought he invited me to stay for as long as I needed," Ace said bitterly. "Turns out he only meant tonight. One night! I'm homeless, and that's all he offers me! Says I should go to a fucking hotel! How the fuck would I even afford that?!"

Marco sighed and took the rum bottle from Ace's hands. He always started to cuss when he was getting tipsy.

"Give me back the fucking rum!"

Marco put the opening of the bottle to his mouth and took a long drought. This was going to be a long night. Sighing, he gave it back.

Ace took another drink and continued his story. "And when I tell him that, he says it's not his fucking problem. That he is not looking for anything fucking serious."

Marco took the box of ice cream since Ace was busy with the bottle and started eating as he listened to Ace rant on. Apparently, Smoker hadn't been looking for a long term relationship and having Ace live with him for a month or longer while his place was renovated qualified as such.

Finally, Ace was done ranting and cussing, having almost finished the bottle.

Marco sighed again and wrapped an arm around Ace's shoulders. "I'm sorry you two broke up, but my offer still stands. You can stay here as long as you need." He pressed a kiss on top of Ace's hair.

"Thank you," it sounded muffled, and Ace shifted, wrapping his arms around Marco's torso. It seemed that the cursing phase was over, and Ace was getting clingy now, implicating that he was fully drunk by now.

Marco feared the worst.

Ace snuggled up against him, knocking the now empty bottle to the floor. By some miracle, it didn't break.

"I don't know why I keep doing this to myself," he muttered against Marco's chest.

Marco petted his hair. He needed to leave, because things only would get worse from here on out, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Ace like this. "You'll find someone."

"Yeah, someone…" Ace looked up, his dark eyes shining. "Someone like you."

 _Fuck_.

"Ace, you don't mean that."

"I do mean it," Ace whined. "You're good to me. You're always there for me, you're even taking me in! You'd be good for me…"

Marco's heart was racing like mad as Ace leaned in. Their lips barely brushed together, and Marco pushed Ace roughly away from him as he scrambled to his feet.

"No, Ace! You can't do this to me! Not… again."

After Ace had broken up with his girlfriend Vivi, he had become the same mess as he was now, worse even, because they had been more serious. Ace had gotten drunk and had come to the same conclusion, that he should be dating Marco. He had kissed Marco, and Marco was ashamed to admit that he had given in. They had kissed, and it had been amazing, right up to the point where Ace had fallen asleep.

The next day, he hadn't remembered a thing, leaving Marco heartbroken.

He wasn't going to let that happen again.

"But… You don't agree?" Ace asked, looking genuinely confused.

Marco clenched his hands to fists to stop them from trembling. "I do. I think we'd be great together. But it's not what you want."

"But I do want it!" Ace made an attempt to come closer, but Marco took a step back.

"No, you don't. You're drunk. And tomorrow you've forgotten all about it, until the next person breaks your heart. You'd just leave me behind again, assuming I'll be there to pick up the pieces. And fuck, Ace, I want to be there for you, but you can't fucking do this to me!" Marco realised he sounded like Ace had an hour ago, but he didn't care. "I love you, but I'm your friend, and I'm fine with that, as long as I can keep you in my life. But _you're_ supposed to be _my_ friend as well. So stop torturing me!"

Marco ran towards his bedroom, slamming the door shut. He was trembling all over.

"Marco?" Ace's voice was soft as he gently knocked on the door. "Marco?"

He sounded like a puppy stuck outside in the rain, and it broke Marco's heart, but Marco knew the pain would be worse if he let Ace in right now. Maybe he wasn't strong enough to be friends with Ace. Maybe he should sent Ace away the next time he got dumped.

Marco knew that he would never do that.

* * *

Marco woke up, hardly feeling rested. Still, a glance on his alarm clock proved it was time to get up.

When he opened his bedroom door, he saw Ace sitting next to it against the wall, asleep. Signing, Marco lifted him up and placed him on the couch. He wasn't ready to face Ace, not yet.

Marco would love to take a shower, but he didn't want to wake Ace up. Casting one more glance on him, Marco pulled the door shut behind him.

* * *

Marco didn't see or talk to Ace in a week. He had had the urge to call him several times, but always discarded the idea. Even if he longed to hear Ace's voice, he had no idea what to say to him.

When he came home from work the first day, the sofabed had been folded back in and everything had been cleaned up. Ace had been nowhere to be found.

Via Haruta, Marco had heard Ace was staying with friends, which was a relief, but it worried him that Ace didn't visit him as if nothing had happened. Did it mean that Ace remembered? Or did he only recall Marco being mad at him?

Marco wasn't mad, not really. He loved Ace, both as a friend and as more than that, and he'd rather jump off a cliff than to do something to lose him. But that didn't mean he shouldn't have a bit of self-perseverance, right?

The next day, he was surprised at work with a large bouquet of flowers. It had a card with it, saying just 'I'm sorry'. It wasn't signed, but Marco had an idea who it was from. He smiled and went to work, but still didn't call Ace.

The following days, he received a bottle of expensive rum, chocolates and a fruit basket. Marco was more and more inclined to call Ace each day, but his stubbornness kept him from doing so. If Ace had something to say to him, he should just say it.

Finally, when a quartet of singers stood in front of his door singing an "I'm sorry" song on behalf of Ace, Marco had enough. He dialled Ace's number, and, as soon as Ace picked up, Marco didn't give him time to say anything before he hollered: "If you have something to say, just _say_ it." He then hang up.

Ace didn't call him back, as Marco had suspected, and about half an hour after his call, Marco heard a knock on his door.

"The quartet was a bit much?" Ace asked as soon as Marco opened the door.

"A bit, yes." Marco stepped aside to let Ace in.

Ace looked around the apartment and smiled pleased when he saw the bottle of rum, the chocolates, the flowers and the fruit basket on the counter. "I see you got the rest as well."

"I did, but honestly, I'd preferred if you just stopped by and talked to me."

Ace let his head hang. "I'm sorry, it's just… I've never been good with words, and I just…"

Marco sat down on the couch and patted beside him, indicating that Ace should take a seat as well. "Too bad, because we're gonna talk."

Ace reluctantly sat down again.

Marco thought for a while how he could best start. "Look, that night… I don't even know how much you remember, but…"

"I remember all of it."

"Oh." Marco was taken aback a little. He had hoped Ace at least didn't recall his little confession. "Well, then. In that case, I'm the one that should apologise." He cleared his throat embarrassedly.

"Why?" Ace looked at him confused.

"I shouldn't have…" Marco sighed. "I can't deny that what I said isn't true. I _am_ in love with you, but I know you were drunk and didn't mean what you said. I just want to go back the way things were, you know. Just… be friends."

"What if I did mean it?"

Ace's voice was so soft Marco wondered for a moment if he had imagined it. "You… What?"

Ace rose and turned his back to Marco, but Marco noticed that the tips of Ace's ears were bright red.

"I-I remember the first time too. When we were kissing. A few days before, a friend of mine saw us sitting and he asked if you were my boyfriend, and I laughed it off, since we're friends, but the idea stuck with me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. But I was with Vivi at the time, so when we broke up, I wanted to know what it was like. I had expected you to push me away, but when you kissed back… It was amazing, but it scared the hell out of me, so I pretended nothing happened. And you didn't say anything, so I thought maybe you thought that was for the best too. But last week, you kissed my head and it all came back to me, and I just really wanted to kiss you again. Never in a million years had I expected you to confess your love, and I just…"

Ace turned back, his cheeks the colour of a tomato, but his eyes determined. "I never meant to hurt you, I promise. You're my best friend, but I want us to be more than that. And now I know you want that too."

Marco just gaped at him. He had been pining over Ace for years now, and Ace just came out and said it?

"Please say something," Ace almost begged.

"I… What?" Marco managed to bring out. This was not how he had expected their talk to go. He had hoped Ace would forget about his confession and that they could be friends again, but… Was Ace suggesting what Marco thought he was suggesting?

Ace wasn't satisfied with Marco's unintelligible stammers and walked over to him, taking his hands into his. "I'm willing to try this if you are."

Marco stared at their joined hands, but then looked up to Ace's warm eyes.

"I'm really sorry for hurting you," Ace whispered. "That's the last thing I wanted. I was just scared… Scared that I would lose you."

Marco finally snapped out of his daze and gently cupped Ace's cheek with his hand. "You don't ever have to fear that," he said softly.

Ace moved forward, brushing his lips against Marco's hesitantly, as if Marco would burn him, but it only managed to light Marco's passion.

He pulled Ace on the couch and moved on top of him as he kissed Ace passionately.

Finally, they had to part for air, but Marco pulled only back as far as absolutely necessary. Now that he finally had Ace, he wouldn't let him go.

"Does your offer to stay here still stand?" Ace asked, panting slightly.

"Don't tell me that's the only reason you seduced me," Marco said amusedly.

Ace gave him a small peck on the lips. "Nah, that was just long overdue…" He hummed in thought. "Maybe that fire wasn't so bad after all."


End file.
